Malinchism () is a Spanish term used primarily in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

to refer to excessive admiration for the people, culture, ideas, behaviors, and lifestyle of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and other foreign countries over those native to México. It has been described as a form of attraction that a person from one

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

develops for another culture, a particular case of

cultural cringe In the fields of cultural studies and social anthropology, cultural cringe is an expression used to refer to an internalized inferiority complex where people dismiss their own culture as inferior (''cringe-inducing)'' when compared to the culture ...

. It has been described as an ethnic

inferiority complex In psychology, an inferiority complex is a consistent feeling of inadequacy, often resulting in the belief that one is in some way deficient, or inferior, to others. According to Alfred Adler, a feeling of inferiority may be brought about by ...

or national

self-hatred Self-hatred is a state of personal self-loathing or low self-esteem. In psychology and psychiatry The term "self-hatred" is used infrequently by psychologists and psychiatrists, who would usually describe people who hate themselves as "people w ...

Origin

Malinchism is derived from the name of

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...

's Nahua advisor La Malinche, also known by her Christian name "Marina". She is a symbol for those indigenous Americans who aided the Spaniards in the conquest of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. "Malinchism" may be taken as a

pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...

, as an expression of disdain for those who are attracted by foreign values, thinking them superior, of better quality and worthy of imitation. It has been described as a deep-rooted Mexican

Uses

and in other countries the term "malinchism" or "malinchist" applies to all those who feel an attraction to foreign cultures and disregard for their own culture. It also applies to politics, as in

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, where leftist political parties call their opponents "malinchist right-wing". The myth of Malinche came to be applied as a technical term for giving preference to

Western cultures Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompasses the social nor ...

. The concept has a potential broader application to refer to a colonized country developing an admiration or affection for a colonizing country. Malinchism is also associated with the depiction of women as symbols of betrayal and deceitful behavior. In Mexican popular culture, this theme often portrays Malinche as both the deceiver and the deceived. In theatrical productions, she is sometimes depicted as a victim of conquest, while in other portrayals, she is portrayed as the architect of her own fate. She is represented in art as a figure showing women's inborn deception and guilt — one who used her sexuality and betrayed her children. Even in dance, the dichotomy persists. In ''La Malinche,'' a ballet composed in 1949, by

José Limón José Arcadio Limón (January 12, 1908 – December 2, 1972) was a dancer and choreographer from Mexico and who developed what is now known as 'Limón technique'. In the 1940s, he founded the José Limón Dance Company (now the Limón Dan ...

, Malinche is at first an unwilling victim, then assumes the proud deportment of an aristocrat, and in the end, weighted down by the finery she wears, she gives birth to a

mixed-race The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

child who rejects her. In literature, Malinche has been compared to

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

, the temptress who through deception, leads men astray.

Studies

Ueltschy and Ryans argued that upper-class consumers in Mexico display malinchism in their preference for American imports, rather than local Mexican brands. As result, American products are popular in middle class markets and their advertisers generally concentrate their efforts on urban

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and avoid working class and rural areas.

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

and

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

, for example, purchase 70 percent of American imports.Linda Ueltschy, and John K. Ryans, Jr., "Employing standardized promotion strategies in Mexico: the impact of language and cultural differences," ''International Executive'' (July 1997) 39#4 pp 479+ Jiménez et al. developed a scale for measuring malinchismo that accounted for the favoring of foreign entertainment, foreign people, foreign food, and foreign products among adolescents.

Notes

References

* * {{cite book, last1=Lemos, first1= M. T. T. B. , last2=Dantas , first2=Alexis Toribio , title=América: Visões e Versões - Identidades em confronto , edition= 7 , year= 2010 Political culture Cultural studies Political metaphors Pejorative terms for people Culture of Mexico Feminism in Mexico Treason Eponyms Admiration of foreign cultures

Origin

Uses

Studies

See also

Notes

References